Aquavit: And the New Scandinavian Cuisine by Marcus Samuelsson
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Book Reviews of Aquavit: And the New Scandinavian Cuisine
Book Review: A Soulful Scandinavian Smorgasbord
Summary: 3 Stars
Ethiopian chef Marcus Samuelsson first made a splash when he founded Aquavit,a Scandinavian restaurant. He reinvigorated Scandinavian cuisine from its usual drab Northern flavors. After all,let's remember that in "Babette's Feast",the heroine prepares a fancy French feast--not a Scandinavian one(!!!)
"Aquavit" has numerous delicious and easy recipes. There's a mango chutney,a "grandmother's chicken soup" (with plenty of African flavors),Salmon in Orange-Fennel Broth,and Juniper-Apple Soup. Samuelsson is an expert in blending spices and flavors.
There are some drawbacks--not all of the recipes are practical,and the pictures show the dishes to be a bit too frou-frou for the everyday. It's more of a coffee table book than everyday use.
"Aquavit" marked Samuelsson's cookbook debut. His "Discovery of a Continent",however,is an excellent follow-up. When he explores African cuisine,he's at the top of his game. He may have reinvigorated Scandinavian cuisine-but he introduced African cooking to the world!
Book Review: Great pictures, flawed directions
Summary: 2 Stars
I tried the recipes for My Grandmother's Chicken Soup, Dill-crusted Artic Char with Pinot Noir Sauce, and Corn Mashed Potatoes. All had major flaws in them: The chicken soup not only did not match the picture (which shows hunks of chicken, lemon grass, fresh thyme, and what look like tomatoes, none of which appear in the recipe) and gave no directions for a major ingredient (garam masala). The finished product was bland (I included the garam masala in the roasting step), but usable. The artic char was completely overwhelmed by the sauce, although the seared skin and potato layer (way to much dill, though) was a good idea. Finally, the potato dish turned into soup when I added even less than the specified half of the cooking liquid; I remedied this by cooking the mixture (not called for in the recipe) which, after all, did contain two raw egg yolks at that point, until it thickened up to a reasonable consistency. The product was quite good, and the corn is a nice addition to this simple accompaniment. In summary, the ideas in this cookbook are intriguing, and I will continue to experiment with them, but a lot more kitchen testing of the printed recipes was needed before releasing this beautiful, but expensive and inaccurate cookbook.Book Review: Not for a cook
Summary: 1 Stars
This book is not for someone who likes to cook, but for someone who "collects" cookbooks. It is glossy, expensive, with photographs of finished products that do not convey anything about a dish, except that the photographer is rather artistic without any knowledge of cooking skills. Description of techniques is neither for a professional, nor for a home cook. A way better investment for someone who likes cooking and wants to try real Scandinavian cuisine would be any book of Beatrice Ojakangas.